Are you ready for the 4th of July? We certainly are! We know exactly where we are watching the fireworks, who we are spending the day with and what we are eating! Since we’ve already planned everything so well, we thought we would share some 4th of July treat ideas with you!
This is the easiest desert! Simply buy premade angel food cake, whipped cream and berries! Slice it up and serve! Or you can cut the angel food cake up into pieces, layer it with berries and whipped cream and serve it like below!
Create a dip your own ice cream sandwich or ice cream Sunday bar! Who doesn’t love ice cream on a hot summer day?
Spice up your water by adding ice cubes with frozen berries!
Add some fun to your fruit by creating star spangled fruit kabobs!
Find some of our other favorite summer recipes here! Don’t have a grill at home?
Come stay with us and enjoy our grills, private hot tubs & back decks!
Did you know Hosts can now review guests on Homeaway/VRBO/Airbnb, just like the guests can review us? Now, as a Guest is searching through potential homes to rent for vacation, Hosts too get to choose if they want to accept certain guests. We want to help you get the 5 star review you deserve as a guest! Here are our tips on how to be a good guest:
Before Arrival:
- Read any and all correspondence from the host. Usually, a host will send you all the checkin information you need prior to arrival. Often times they will also send suggestions on what to do in the area, tips on how to use the equipment in the home, and so much more! This will save you from having to call or message the host!
During Your Stay:
- Read any Welcome Books or signage in the home. Many hosts offer welcome books, notes on the fridge/table or even Tablets/iPads in the home with extra details about the home. These often include wifi information, TV details, how-to-use instructions and more!
- Keep an eye for any notes around the home. Sometimes homes have quirks. There might be notes on certain doors with tips on how to lock tricky doors, instructions on how to open/close unique windows and more.
- Treat the home with respect. Treat the home like you would your own. If you wouldn’t go in your own home soaking wet or push a heavy piece of furniture across your floor, try not to do it in your vacation home.
- Post pictures & tag your host. We LOVE hearing from our guests & seeing photos of you all making memories together! It’s probably our favorite thing about being a host! If you are having fun on your vacation, take photos in the home or around the home & mention them on social media!
Before Your Departure:
- Clean up after yourself. Try to make the home look like it did when you arrived. Make sure trash is in the bin and you aren’t leaving tons of items behind. While a housekeeping team does come through the home, their goal is to make the home as clean, sparkly and sanitized as possible. And it is easier for them to do that when they aren’t also throwing away your trash and putting furniture back where it belongs.
- Bonus: Strip the beds and leave the bedding and dirty towels in a pile. While we don’t require this of our guests, we do greatly appreciate it when they take the time to strip the beds for our housekeeping team.
After Your Departure:
- Email the host. We love hearing from our guests! Let us know if you had a great time or if you have any suggestions! Also send them any photos you may have taken during your trip that they may enjoy! You can even ask them to write you a 5 star review and let them know you will write them a 5 star review as well!
We truly believe we have the best guests at Rent Branson! Majority of our guests do all of the items above without any prompting, but we want to make sure you know how to get a 5 star review as a guest.
Do you have any other questions or suggestions?
Summer season is upon us, which means it’s grilling season! We love having any excuse to get outside and it doesn’t get much better than grilling on your back deck with family or friends! {Unless you plan on getting in your private hot tub afterwards- right? Don’t have a private hot tub? We can help with that!}
After years of experience barbecuing with family and friends, we’ve finally found a few go-to recipes! These recipes are easy and delicious! Here are a some of our favorite summer recipes. We know you are going to love them too!
This easy recipe calls for steak, small potatoes, mushrooms, olive oil, rosemary & salt.
Combine the olive oil, rosemary & salt in a bowl then soak the steak, potatoes & mushrooms in the mixture. Then place the items on kebab sticks & grill!
Items can be grilled directly on the barbecue grill if you don’t have kebab sticks.
Hot summer days call for refreshing water- flat or sparkling! A few of our favorite combinations are:
orange slices, lemon slices, lime slices, cucumber slices and watermelon chunks
or
bag of frozen mixed berries & a few lemon slices
or
apple slices & orange slices
Smother chicken, pineapple, bell peppers, onion, and bacon with either
barbecue sauce
or
1/2 cup brown sugar, 1.5 tbs cornstarch, salt, 1.5 cups pineapple juice, & 2 tbs soy sauce
then put all items on a kebab stick and grill them!
Who doesn’t love chips & dip?!
We love combing black beans, corn, avocado, cherry tomatoes, onion & cilantro
and mixing it with lemon juice, olive oil and salt!
This is one of our go-to deserts!
Cut your peaches in half & lightly cover with oil.
Grill the peaches to your liking.
Top the peach with honey & sea salt & a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
We love Branson, Missouri for so many reasons, but to celebrate the new year we decided to make a list of 21 reasons to visit Branson in 2021!
- We are located in the heart of the Ozarks! Come enjoy the fresh air of the Ozarks with us in Branson!
- Silver Dollar City has some of the countries best roller coasters and kids rides! Spend the day with the entire family eating fun treats and being adventurous!
- Table Rock Lake is one of the largest, most beautiful lakes in the country! Come enjoy it in one of our lakefront or lake view homes!
- Branson has some of the BEST golf courses in the country! And the views from these golf courses are unbelievable!
- Dogwood Canyon has some of the most beautiful trails we’ve ever seen! You will love it!
- Branson has so many incredible shows for you to enjoy!
- Go zip lining through the treetops in the Ozarks!
- Shopping galore! Go shopping at the Branson Landing or the Tanger Outlets! There is something for everyone.
- Come enjoy all the delicious food! From traditional southern to gourmet feasts.
- Enjoy fishing in Lake Taneycomo or Table Rock Lake. There is a reason so many fishing tournaments take place in Branson!
- Branson has some of the BEST vacation rental homes in the country! We have everything from lakefront suites to 12 bedroom homes with private indoor pools! From cabins to cottages, there is something for everyone!
- Did you know we have wineries in Branson? Go wine tasting in Branson while looking over the gorgeous rolling hills of the Ozarks.
- Rest and relax in your cabin, hot tub, nature, or even with a private masseuse! Did you know we work with a masseuse who can come to your vacation rental to make your vacation even more relaxing?
- Did you know Branson has a new aquarium and there is also another large aquarium a short drive away in Springfield? Both are fun for the family!
- Come enjoy some of the best hiking trails in Branson! There are hiking trails for beginners and experts in the area!
- Race as a family on Go-Karts at one of the local tracks!
- Enjoy live music from artists like Elvis, Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, Marilyn Monroe and more!
- Play mini-golf alongside dinosaurs, waterfalls and other fun landmarks!
- Go snow tubing year round!
- Visit one of the museums like Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, the Titanic, the Hollywood Wax Museum or more!
- Ride the Branson Ferris Wheel and take in the gorgeous views!
What are some of your favorite reasons to visit Branson?
We love the Christmas season! And as if the season isn’t sweet enough on its own, we like to always keep some sweet snacks on hand at home. Below you will find two of our easy go-to recipes! They are so easy to make an are always a crowd pleaser- from the little kids to the big kids at heart. We can almost guarantee everyone will love these treats!
Whether you plan on going to a holiday party or plan on staying home with family or friends, you will absolutely want to make both of these recipes for Christmas! Each recipe will take you about 15-20 minutes to make, but the joy the treats will bring will last far longer!
Here are two of the perfect recipes for Christmas!
be sure to pin these images as a reminder for later & follow us on Pinterest for more fun recipes & inspiration!
What are some of your go-to holiday treats?
Or what are some of your holiday traditions?
Our homes book up quickly for the holidays, so make sure you start planning your 2018 Christmas today!
Most people agree, that the holiday season is magical. And Branson really goes above and beyond! Christmas in Branson starts immediately after Halloween {and in some locations slightly before}. You could say we’re a little over zealous and we love it! Branson puts on a terrific Christmas show for the whole family. Below are a few places you don’t want to miss if you are coming to Branson in November or December. Trust us- the whole family will love it!
Here are the best places to see Christmas lights in Branson:
- Shepherd of the Hill’s Trail of Lights: Rated one of the Travel Channels top five drive-through Christmas displays, the Trail of Lights is a Branson classic. A beautiful display comes complete with a 230 ft Christmas tree. $32.99/per car.
- Branson’s Gift of Lights: Off of Shepherd of the Hills Expressway is a stunning 1.2 mile drive through light show. Over a million LED lights! $20/car.
- Ozark Mountain Christmas Lights and Village: This is a light show not easily forgotten! Drive through the Magic Mile, ride on the Noth Pole Express, sip on hot chocolate, take a selfie with Santa, or check out the life sized nativity. $20/vehicle.
- Silver Dollar City: We truly saved the best for last here. Branson’s premier attraction certainly sets a high standard for all other Christmas displays. 5 million lights, a thousand trees, including one 5 story Christmas tree, parades, carolers, a Broadway-style shows. Be sure to visit SDC during this holiday season!
Sometimes you just need a change of scenery. And you deserve a getaway. So what do you do when you can’t go take the vacation days, but need to getaway? Plan a ‘Workation.’ Yes, that’s right- a work vacation. We’re here to help you plan the perfect work vacation.
We have everything from lakefront 1 bedroom suites to lake view 12 bedroom homes! And all of our homes have wifi- so you can work while enjoying the fresh air of the Ozarks, stunning lake views, secluded log cabins and so much more! Plan your work vacation with your family, your coworkers, your friends or on your own.
You can work by day and relax by night. Most of our homes have private hot tubs, full kitchens, an indoor fireplace, outdoor fire pits, TV/cable, and more. Want to stay near downtown Branson? We have homes all around the Branson area- so whether your are looking for a home near Silver Dollar City or a cabin near Big Cedar Lodge, we have something for you!
Few things say log cabin getaway like fresh s’mores. Don’t you agree? We love making s’mores every time we go on vacation. But sometimes, we get the urge to make s’mores even when we aren’t on vacation and we don’t have easy access to a fire. Luckily, we found the perfect alternative! You can now make a s’more at home and will love our new S’more Bark recipe! It has all the yummy-ness of a regular s’more without the mess and need for a fire! You can make these while staying in a cabin or you can make them from the comfort of your own home!
What is your go-to vacation treat? Would you ever make a s’more at home?
be sure to pin this image and save it for later!
Are you ready for fall? We sure are! Bring on the cozy blankets, warm drinks and evenings by the fireplace. Anyone else agree? In preparation for the coming fall, we’ve put together a handful of our favorite fall quotes!
“Autumn… the year’s last, loveliest smile.” –William Cullen Bryant
“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.” -Stanley Horowitz
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” – L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
“Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies.
I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.” – Nora Ephron
“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” – Albert Camus
“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty,
as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.”– Lauren Destefano
What are your favorite fall quotes?
It seems more people are traveling and posting their luxurious travels on Instagram and Facebook. But how do they really afford it? We have the inside tips on how to have a luxurious vacation on a shoestring budget. Because if you are like us, you enjoy the finer things in life, but really don’t want to break the bank. So here are our tips!
- Rent a home. This might sound crazy, but we promise it isn’t- especially if you are traveling with family. It is often far cheaper to rent a home than it is to rent two or more hotel rooms- even at discount hotels. Plus- then you get the benefits of all the extra space, extra amenities, and privacy you deserve. And posting a photo in your private hot tub is much more luxurious than posting a photo in a community hot tub, don’t you think?
- Cook at the home you rented. This is another reason to rent a home. When you rent a home, you often get a full kitchen. We’ve found eating out can be one of the most expensive parts of a vacation. We recommend saving your money and cooking at your home. Then you not only have extra money to spend on activities, but you can also share photos of you grilling out as a family on your private back deck and eating under the stars. I mean, does it get any better?
- Plan activities you can do at the home. Many vacation rentals offer amenities on property- from frisbee golf and scavenger hunts to a pool and a fire pit. We love the idea of spending the day hiking and reading, then spending the evening making s’mores outside at your own private log cabin.
- Find a couple splurge worthy items. Discuss what items you really want to fit into your trip and plan accordingly- whether it be see a show, go to a fancy restaurant, zipline through the treetops or wine tasting.
- Ask your host. Often times your host will have the inside scoop to local discounts! Don’t be afraid to ask!